Cool Artists to Check Out

[Alderon]

Here are my two cents of current and not-so-current female songwriting artists to check out:

Beth Waters:
<a href='http://www.bethwaters.com' target='_blank'>www.bethwaters.com</a>, my favourite song so far is "Sweaters"

Likewater:
there are 2 songs you can sample hear at this link, "Radio Song" AND "Moment in the Light". please play "Radio Song" until you at least finish the first chorus... the voice in the beginning isn't the prettiest part of the song.
<a href='http://www.garageband.com/artist/likewater' target='_blank'>Garageband.com featuring Likewater</a>

Kate Bush: my favourite songs currently are "Hello Earth", "Cloudbusting", and "Running Up That Hill"

Joni Mitchell: my favourite songs are "Woodstock" and "River"

Happy Listening.

Alderon.

[ShaynePepper]

Thanks! Beth Waters sounds pretty amazing. I might break down and buy this cd tomorrow.

[random]

well, i don't listen to anyone else like vienna, but there are a few other artists on my very very cool list: keiji haino, grateful dead, mahavishnu orchestra, steve lawson, the luna moth, mark schlipper, pa la calle, animal dreams, dave crowder and bushtic. hmmmmm.....soulfly, anthrax, motorhead, the distillers.... i think that's it.

[GeenaSu622]

Chantal Kreviazuk
Vanessa Carlton
Jessica Weiser

Great artists.

[Malanai]

Jessica Weiser IS great!! I'll second that. ^_^

www.jessicaweiser.com

[Sarah]

I've been checking out some other Asian-American artists, including <a href='http://odessachen.com/' target='_blank'>Odessa Chen</a> and <a href='http://www.miakimonline.com/' target='_blank'>Mia Kim</a>, but I haven't had time to sample any of their music yet.

My current obsession is <a href='http://mediaevalbaebes.com/' target='_blank'>Mediaeval Baebes</a>. This is a troupe of nine women (indeed they are babes) who sing primarily in Latin. Good stuff. I recommend "I Am Eve" off their album The Rose. I haven't been able to find any of their CDs at Border's or FYE in my area, so I guess it looks like I'll have to order it online.

[Cookie778]

I just recently discovered Vienna T. and she is absolutely fantastic. I saw her perform at a really neat cafe in Cary, NC called Six String Cafe....

Here is my list of other female singer/songwriters/other wonderful musicians in their own right:

1) Alysson Light: she is an 18 year oldish piano player from Chapel Hill, NC, and she has played with Vienna on occasion.
2) Kyler England: she is an acoustic guitar player from Raleigh, and she is amazing. She has toured with vienna, melissa etheridge, shawn colvin, and other famed musical artists. Her music has been featured on soap operas recently, and she was the NC Songwriters Contest winner for 2002.
3)Laura Berman: friends with Kyler, and has been background vocalists for Enya and has been on the The Rosie O'Donnell Show.
4) Lalo: a vibes player who tours with Kyler on occasion, and is reowned in jazz circles for her work on the vibes.
5) Claire Holley: wonderful musician who played acoustic guitar with a "folk" sound. She has an wonderful version of Come thou font and amazing grace.

[wolding]

I think it is just fantastic that Vienna put Lü Dao Xiaoyequ (Green Island Serenade) on Warm Strangers!

If anyone else has been digging Vienna's Chinese, you might want to check out <a href='http://www.wildchildren.net' target='_blank'>Wild Children</a>. They are five guys from Western China who play acoustic instruments: guitar, harmonica, ganza, accordion, hand drums, bass. Their harmonies are very rich as well. While acoustic, the music ranges from thoughful to energetic and it is always fun to listen to (the bass player is great). No English at all here, but some might hear echoes of John Cougar Mellancamp's folky days. But this is very fresh and different. Their website has samples of a lot of their songs.

A friend had trouble finding their two cd's in Beijing last month. She had to buy them from a dorm room based business. So, I guess Wild Children are still building their career. However, they have just recently become available on cdbaby.

[nina]

tori amos - <a href='http://www.toriamos.com' target='_blank'>http://www.toriamos.com</a>

ani difranco - <a href='http://www.righteousbabe.com' target='_blank'>http://www.righteousbabe.com</a>

noe venable - <a href='http://www.noevenable.com' target='_blank'>http://www.noevenable.com</a>

björk - <a href='http://www.bjork.com' target='_blank'>http://www.bjork.com</a>

kate bush - <a href='http://www.gaffa.org' target='_blank'>http://www.gaffa.org</a>

fiona apple - <a href='http://www.fiona-apple.com' target='_blank'>http://www.fiona-apple.com</a>

jennifer terran - <a href='http://www.jenniferterran.com' target='_blank'>http://www.jenniferterran.com</a>

alanis morissette - <a href='http://www.alanis.com' target='_blank'>http://www.alanis.com</a>

terami hirsch - <a href='http://www.teramihirsch.com' target='_blank'>http://www.teramihirsch.com</a>

[murlough23]

I'll throw my two cents in:

Over the Rhine: <a href='http://www.overtherhine.com' target='_blank'>http://www.overtherhine.com</a>
(Husband and wife duo, sultry vocals, lots of folk, jazz and country influence)

Eastmountainsouth: <a href='http://www.eastmountainsouth.com' target='_blank'>http://www.eastmountainsouth.com</a>
(Another male/female duo, very folk-influenced but a little glossier, great vocal harmonies)

Corrinne May: <a href='http://www.corrinnemay.com' target='_blank'>http://www.corrinnemay.com</a>
(L.A. area indie artist, originally from Singapore, like Vienna but with more acoustic guitar and a sunnier disposition - I first discovered Vienna when Corrinne was opening for her)

NP: "Passage", Vienna Teng

[Malanai]

Hooray for Over the Rhine ^_^ They came from my hometown. Over the Rhine is actually the name of a neighborhood here in Cincinnati.

Great band, they are awesome live.
--Penny

[Chris]

I, too, just discovered VT from a friend's recommendation. Caught her live performance today in LA - WOW. I believe that she sounds better live than on her CD. And she has a great sense of humor. BTW she used to be an engineer for Cisco and what a inspiration to all of us who are techie grunts.

The postings so far have some awesome recommendations. Some of the artists I'm familiar with and others I would definitely want to check out - thanks.

Here are my 2 cents - (actually 3)
Aimee Mann - VT's song writing reminds me of Aimee, who is also a classical-trained musician. Aimee's recent work has been amazing (just ignore her 80's phase with Til' Tuesday)
Jill Sobule - Another signer that I enjoy but is not too well known. Yes, Jill is the signer with that catchy lesbian song "Kiss A Girl" - but if you can look past just that song, you'll find some amazing gems - (a bit whimpsical but always strong writings). Try "Too Cool to Fall in Love" - produced by Todd Rundgren
Bebel Gilberto - She belongs to an entirely different genre, Bosa Nova/contemporary Latin pop. But she has an amazing voice and her songs are, well, happy - hey, a little joy & love can go a long way

thanks for reading

[murlough23]

Great band, they are awesome live.

Yeah, well, wish I could find that out for myself! They've cancelled two concerts in Southern California within the last year.

[murlough23]

Oh, duh, how could I forget Iona? They're only my #2 favorite band in the entire world. I'm prett yfanatical about them because they're not very well known. Excellent blend of jazz, folk, celtic, prog rock, and so forth.

<a href='http://www.iona.uk.com' target='_blank'>http://www.iona.uk.com</a>

[JoanneElizabeth]

I'd have to add:

Susan Werner- <a href='http://www.susanwerner.com' target='_blank'>http://www.susanwerner.com</a>
Joanne Elizabeth- <a href='http://groups.msn.com/SunnyRain' target='_blank'>http://groups.msn.com/SunnyRain</a>

Um.... I can't believe no one mentioned Sarah McLachlan!